Furnace.



L. WHITTAKEB..

FURNAGB.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY 31, 190B. 941,480. Patented Nov. 30, 1909. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

i' By LEE-WHITTAKER, ory BUrLEarENNsYLvANIA.

FURNACE.

i 'f speoiaeation pf remis ftent. l Patented'Nov. 30, i909.

. Application led July 31, 1908. "Seria1`No.`446,269.

To all whom 'it meg/concern: Be it known that L'LEE WH xm, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Butler, in thecounty of Butler and1State4 of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Furnace, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to furnaces and parv ticularly to furnaces especially adapted for` use in melting glass, reducing iron or steel or wherever greatI heat is' necessary and where the heat furnishedmshould be free from soot, smoke and obnoxious gases.`

The object of my invention is to provide an improved furnace which shall be adapted 'to generate the maximum amountl of heat from a given quantity of fuel, and of such construction that the heat generated therein mag be readily utilized.

further object of my invention is to provide a furnace as mentioned which shall consume practically all of the gases generated and `all of the fuel supplied thereto to the end that the heat conducted therefrom 'to be utilized shall be substantially free from smoke, soot and obnoxious gases.

A further object of my invention is to provide a furnace adapted t0 burn fuel of substantially any kind lparticularly in, a crushed or pulverized state, and equipped with means for supplying liquid or gaseous fuel thereto.

' provide a furnace equipped with a com.

length of time which the furnace may used without shutting down for repairs.

A further object of my inventlon 1s to bined fuel and air feed and means for admitting heated air into the re.box, and so constructed that the ashes may be readily removed from the fire box and from the ash pit without admitting cold air to the former.

Other objects will appear hereinafter. 1

With these objects in view my invention consists generally ina furnace provided with ay re box of inverted conical or py- -ra'midal shape, a erforated arch substantially covering sai fire box and a fuel 'and air mixing chamber extending through said archy into` said fire box.

, My invention further consists in a furnace having a lire box equipped as above mentioned, an ash pit arran ed beneath said lire box a hinged closure or the bottom of said ire box and a closure for ,said ash pit, Vsaid closures being independently operable in order that the ashes may be removed.V from the lire box while the ash it is'closed and from the ash pit while the re box is closed, thus preventlng the entry of cold air into the furnace while removing the ashes.

My invention further consists in a furnace having a fire box of inverted, conical or pyramidal form, the walls of said re box 'being perforated, a erforated arch substantially covering said fire box, aflue extendin ysubstantially horizontally from a point a ove said arch, an air space surrounding said fire box, and an air inlet arranged beneath and extending substantially parallel with said flue and communicating wlth said air space, and an apron depending from the upper edge or to of the walls of said ire box dividing sai air space into an inner and outer air chamber, said chambers communicating at the bottom or lower edge of said apron.

My invention lfurther consists in various details of construction and arrangements of parts all as will be fully described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

My invention will be more readily under- Vstoodby reference to the vaccompanying verse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

' Referrin now to the drawings, A indicates .the re box defined by the inwardly and downwardly converging front Wall A', sidel walls A and rear wall A", the box being thus of inverted frusto-pyramidal form. VThe walls A and A are preferably but slightly aslant whereas the rear wall 1 A" isv considerably inclined. Extending over there box from ther'top of the rear wall, and substantially covering the same is a perforated arch K. yThis terminates a short distance' from the front walLA forming a fuel feed, o ening B. Extending downwardly throng tangential to the lire box is a fuel mixin chamber B closed at the top by a casingl in which are mounted fuel feed rollers D. The fuelv is fed to the rollers, which are driven in any suitable manner, `through a feed pipe or chute E, the fuel being distributed over said rollers substantially uniforml throughout their' length by the s ace Vflanges C2. The fuel passes in a thin sheet from the rollers through a slot or opening Cs formed by a pair of converging flanges or plates C.

F indicate air nozzles substantially coextensive in width with the rollers D and supplied by 'air through the feed pipes F. The nozzles F discharge diagonally, inwardly and downwardly, against the descending sheet of fuel and thoroughl mixes with the same in the chamber B be ore entering the fire box. The cool air which enters through the air nozzles F keeps the fuel below the ignition temperature until the mixture isinjected into the fire box at the openin B. In this Way all of the heat of the fue is obtained within the fire box where it may be utilized.

L indicates the flue which extends substantially horizontally from a point above the arch K. The draft created by the flue L is usually suiicient to draw in an adequate supply of air through the nozzles F but in case at any time this is found insuficient the air may be forced into the furnace by means of a driven fan F2.

On account of the shape of the fire-box,

, its lower end or bottom is comparatively small and is providedwith a closure 'or closures I, and beneath said closures and extending to the front of the furnace is the ash pit J having the closures J', lJ2. The

' closures I are solid or imperforate, and pre.-

vent the access of cold air to the fire box from beneath. The closures I take the place of the usual grate bars and are mounted to swing upon rods or pintles I which extend throu h the front wall of the furnace and roviv ed at their outer ends with pinions 2 which mesh with larger pinions I3 mounted on the front of the furnace. The shaft of the pinion I3 is provided with a squared wrench hold by means o f which 'the same may be turned and a latch or do I5 is provided to hold the members I in c osed position. To clear the fire box of ashes the members I are swung downwardly into the ash pit by means of the gearing above described, the doors J and J 2 of the ash pit being closed to prevent access of cold air.

the opening B and The members I are then closed after which' the doors of the ash pit may be opened and the ashes removed.

H indicates poke holes extending through the front ofthe furnace in the fire box and provided with the closures H.

j The-lire box is surrounded by an air space,

which Ais co-extensive in height therewith and de pending from the upper edge of the incline Walls of the fire box are dependi vertical walls O2 forming an Aapron whic .divides said air space into inner and outer air` chambers N and O. A ertures O at the bottom or lower edge of t e apron form -a communication between said air chambers.

Extendin from the upper rear edge of the chamber gl is an air intake N which is arranged beneath the flue L, parallel therewith and separated from the same by a thin wall L2. v

Extending through the front wall of the furnace into the mixing chamber B is a transverse row of pipes G connected b a common su ply pipe G rovided wit' a valve G?. enl solid fue is not available or when it is found more desirable to burn liquid or gaseous fuel the latter may be admitted through the pipes G. It is obvious that with this constructlona change of fuel may be made without putting out the lire or cooling the furnace.

The furnace is adapted to burn substantially any kind of solid fuel such as coal, coke, shavings, saw-dust, tan-bark or the like. In using the furnace the fuel is fed to the mixing' chamber' in a thin sheet bythe rol s D and the flue draft of the furnace draws in air throu h the nozzle F, on each side of the sheet o fuel. The fuel thus becomes mixed vwith substantially enough air to entirely consume the same when i nited and the mixture is injected tangential y and downwardl into the fire box. The gases of combustlon strike against the perforated arch K andare broken up thereby so that the intense heat of the furnace will more readily consume the same. The-intensely heated and burning gases soon raise the temperature of Ithe arch to white heat after which all the gases passing through theperforations in the arch wil be .practically entirely conl sumed as will also any smoke or soot which happens to be formed lwithin the furnace althouglr by thoroughly mixing the fue with an adequate supply of air before in- -troducing the same into the furnace but little smoke is formed. The heat thus pro-V duced and conducted through the flue L will be substantially free from smoke, soot and obnoxious gases and may be readily used for any purpose Where a great heat is required. To insure an adequate supply of air the Walls A and A" of the furnace are provided with a plurality of perforations P which form a communication being the tween the fire-box and the inner air chamber O.- The flue draft of the furnace draws the air through the inlet N where itis partiall heated by being adjacent to the iue L, t e air passing into the outer chamber N where it is distributed uniformly around the fire box, thence under the apron into the inner air chamber O where 1tis further heated before being ected into the fii'e box.

Consequently, no cold air is admitted to the fire box except that admitted through the nozzles F and which is mixed with the fuel.

It is obvious that as all of the fuel, includases of combustion, is com letely consume or burned within1 the fire lbox, a maximum amount of heat. from a given quantity of fuel is obtained, and that the heat generated will be free from carbon, obnoxious gases and other products of combustion which would render the same unfit for such use as melting glass and the like.

The furnace may be used with fuel of any kind, solid, liquid or gaseous andthe change from one to the other may be made without shutting down the furnace or cooling the same. By completely burning the fuel the flues do not become' clogged, which is a source of common annoyance to firemen, hence the device may be readily kept up to its maximum eiciency. Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a furnace, a re box having inwardly and downwardly inclined side walls, a perforated arch substantially covering said fire box, a fuel and air mixing vchamber arranged at one side of said arch and opening 4into said fire box, means for feedin through said mixing chamber into sald re box and means for injectin cool air into said mixing chamber and mixing the same with the fuel insufficient quantities to main'- tain the fuel in the mixing chamber below the ignition point, substantially as described.

2.. In a furnace a fire box denedby inwardly and downwardly extending walls, said walls being perforated, a' erforated arch substantial covering said fEire box, a Hue extending rom above said arch, an outer wall spaced from said fire box walls forming an air s ace surrounding said fire box and substantially co-extensive in height therewith, an apron depending in said air s ace from the upper edge of said walls dlviding said space mto inner and outer air chambers, an a1r passage extending parallel with said flue and dlscharging into said outer air chamber, and vsaid chambers being in communication beneath the lower edge of said apron, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof-I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEE WHITTAKER.

Witnesses: Timo. G. Hos'rnn,

EVEBARD 'B. MARSHALL.

fuel 

